Foosha Village

Nami had not gone far. She hid behind a tree at the junction between Gray Terminal and the forest entrance, peering out cautiously. Only when she saw Duen walking over at an unhurried pace did she finally let out a relieved breath and step out.

Duen wrapped a strip of white cloth around his black broadsword, running his hand over the several dents bullets had left in the blade. Though this broadsword was of better quality than ordinary swords, it had not reached the level of a Meito. It might suffer all manner of deformation and damage in future battles, and the thought made him feel a little distressed.

After all, it was a parting gift from his master, Koushirou. To Duen, its commemorative value far outweighed its combat value.

"Are you hurt?"

Nami's eyes roamed over Duen, trying to find any wounds. Thinking of how he had shielded her just now, she could not help feeling, This guy may usually be awful, but he's pretty reliable when it counts. But the instant she noticed the change in her feelings, she secretly muttered, It's an illusion, right? It has to be an illusion!

"They were just a bunch of nobodies. They couldn't hurt me."

Duen was not merely putting on a brave front. If his current physical strength were expressed through system data, it was at the level of Swordsmanship LV. Compared to his swordsmanship, his own strength and speed had improved even more. Not to mention that he possessed both the Nightmare Fruit's powers and Geppo from the Six Powers.

If the other side had not been carrying guns, this battle should have ended long ago.

But it also exposed one of his weaknesses—his lack of defensive power.

Only by learning Armament Haki or Iron Body from the Six Powers could he truly move with ease in the East Blue. Even if his enemies adopted exhausting human-wave tactics, he would still remain undefeated.

"Nobodies..."

Nami silently repeated Duen's words, her thoughts drifting as she recalled the battles along the way. Whether it was killing Arnold, captain of the One-Eyed Pirate Crew, in what had practically been a sneak attack, resolving the pirate incident aboard the cruise ship, infiltrating High Town to kill a noble last night, or facing desperate men armed with firearms just now...

This guy had barely suffered so much as a scratch. Every time, it was as though he could foresee the future, always seizing the best moment to act. The battles usually ended swiftly, and his face always carried that indifferent expression, as if nothing in the world could stump him.

And he knew so many strange yet powerful combat techniques. He was not just making pointless jokes... He really was strong!

If it were him...

"What are you spacing out for? Let's go." Duen slung the broadsword over his back and walked ahead.

Nami's thoughts were interrupted. Once she came back to herself, she could not help feeling irritated and blaming herself.

What am I thinking? What is wrong with me? How could I think of relying on this guy? If I did that... I'd only get him killed. No, he definitely wouldn't help me either. Nami, hurry up and get rid of this stupid but real thought. Wishful thinking will only drag everyone into a bottomless abyss, beyond saving!

She calmed her somewhat turbulent mind and hurried after Duen.

Foosha Village and the Goa Kingdom were separated by Mount Colubo. The mountain was not particularly long, and it would take only an hour or two to cross. However, the mountain was occupied by mountain bandits—the Dadan Family.

Because they had behaved recklessly in their early years, they had set an outrageously high toll, scaring off all the travelers nearby who wanted to take the mountain road. As a result, the route became a deserted dead road. By now, they could only survive by hunting the wild beasts in the mountains.

They were mountain bandits in name, but nowadays they did nothing too excessive. In truth, it would be more appropriate to call them a large group of hunters.

Under Garp's arrangements, Luffy and Ace were staying with the Dadan Family.

But Mount Colubo practically encircled the entire Goa Kingdom. Duen did not have the patience to search all the way for the Dadan Family's home, so he had set Foosha Village as his destination.

Once he reached Foosha Village, there was a good chance he would see Luffy and Ace. As protagonists chosen by the will of the world, the negative emotion points those two could provide should be quite abundant, right?

Duen was looking forward to it.

Setting out from Gray Terminal and heading straight through Mount Colubo, several fierce beasts leaped out from the woods along the way. Yet they quickly died beneath Duen's blade. Even Nami had begun to find such things unsurprising.

As they walked down the mountain path, the outlines of windmills five or six meters tall finally appeared ahead. The lush green grass rippled beneath the strong wind, becoming wave after wave rolling toward the distance.

After descending Mount Colubo and walking along the broad country road, they saw small groups of people traveling together around them, chatting and laughing.

Partys Bar was at the entrance to the village, less than fifty meters away, but...

Two gusts of wind suddenly blew past them, followed by familiar cries of "Coming through, coming through!"

Luffy, wearing a red vest, and Ace, dressed in a loose tank top, darted past Duen from behind and rushed toward the bar. Their conversation could faintly be heard.

"Hey, Luffy, don't run so fast!"

"What does it matter?! Ace, you're definitely trying to get ahead of me. I won't fall for it."

"There's meat over there!"

"Where, where?... Damn it, Ace, you tricked me again!"

Watching the two competitive boys charge into the bar without giving an inch, Duen's lips curved into a smile. They had met at last...

Before he had even reached the entrance, he heard noisy voices coming from inside.

"Give me a mug of ale."

"I want ale too."

"Luffy, you're not old enough to drink yet. Makino, another glass of juice."

"What?! Ace, you can clearly drink!"

"Yeah, because I'm already sixteen this year. Here, this is your juice."

"Thanks! No, wait, I don't want juice! I want alcohol, I want alcohol!"

Duen pushed open the door and entered. Luffy was holding his juice with a sulky expression, his head turned away, yet his eyes remained locked onto the ale in Ace's hand.

"Welcome."

Seeing a new customer, Makino, the proprietress who had been watching Ace and Luffy, looked up with a smile.

"Please bring some food and drinks."

Before Duen could finish speaking and reach the bar, Luffy sprang to his feet in fright and hurriedly shoved Ace, who was drinking ale beside him. "Ace, stop drinking! It's that guy!"

Ace leisurely drank his ale and turned around in his seat. Upon seeing Duen, he immediately choked on two mouthfuls of alcohol, hastily put down his cup, and stood up. "It's you!"

"Hm?" Duen stopped walking, completely baffled.

"I'm gonna punch you away!"

Luffy swung his fist and was about to strike Duen when Ace hurriedly stopped him. "No, we can't do that here. We'll drag Makino into it!"

Hearing Ace's warning, Luffy froze. Then he shouted, "But there's no other way! He chased us all the way here!"

"At times like this, we have to be polite."

Ace solemnly pressed down on Luffy's head, then bowed ninety degrees himself. "Thank you for treating us last time! We'll come eat at your restaurant again next time!"

"..."

Duen remembered that he seemed to have chased the two of them through several streets last time. So they had mistaken him for someone from the restaurant chasing after customers who had skipped out on the bill...

And why did that sound so awkward...